OWF in 2006
Photo by Melissa Schneider.
I don't make New Year's resolutions. Instead, I set myself goals and try to meet them. Since I don't write these down, I tend to forget them, so that by the end of the year I only remember the ones I achieved.
It's a good system.
But this year I thought I'd write some of my food/writing goals here, so you can all follow along at home. Consider it a sneak preview of 2006's OWF posts.
Stuff sausage
I'm comfortable with charcuterie. I make duck confit, and all manner of pâtés. I've even made sausage meat and formed it into patties. But I've never gotten around to stuffing that meat into animal intestines. With a bucket of hog casings (thanks, mom!) and two charcuterie books in my holiday haul (not to mention several other relevant books in my food and wine library), it's time to do it.
Make vinegar
I'm cheating on this one. My first batch of vinegar is well under way. But I have to prep the vinegar barrel I received from my dad and transfer the mouth-puckering liquid to it so that I have an established vinegar setup.
Make bacon and duck ham
It's time to put the Battle Droid to work. Homemade bacon. Homemade duck ham. Oh, yes, they will be mine.
Two new paying clients
Last year, I wanted to add one new paying client for my writing. I ended up with three. Maybe if I shoot for two this year, I'll add six! Or four! Or none! Opportunities to write for free are legion, but also not very profitable, so it's time to add a couple more cards to the metaphorical Rolodex. (Meanwhile, I owe outlines to two clients for upcoming articles; maybe I'll do that first).
Finish my book proposal
I guess I should be glad that my writing (and, uh, my full-time job) keep me too busy to work on my book proposal, but I'm determined to devote time to that project as well.
Work through Emile Peynaud's The Taste of Wine
I'm always working to improve my palate. I aspire to a certain ease of analysis. This classic book should help, though it'll be interesting to see if it adds anything to the lessons I learned in Rebecca's class. This is the first step to a much longer-term goal, but I have to get moving at some point.
Melissa and I wish you a year of duck fat, German Rieslings, and other wonderful things.
- Advice For Bloggers Turned Writers
In a literal sense, I'm a professional food and wine writer; I earn money from my articles. In a figurative sense, it's a bit more vague; it's not my day job, and I've only been doing it for a few years. But I'd like to offer some...
- Imbb 26/wbw 21: Duck Confit With Two Wine Pairings
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- Schneider Household Math
Photo by Melissa Schneider. To confit 24 legs from ducks raised for foie gras, you need six pounds of rendered duck fat. Trimmed fat from 24 foie gras duck legs yields three to four pounds of rendered duck fat. Confit fat can be used twice. Therefore,...
- Maybe
I don't like Brussels sprouts. I have repeated this mantra for as long as I can remember. And yet. There is a picture in Thomas Keller's Bouchon that beckons me. The picture shows a piece of duck confit resting on a bed of Brussels sprouts....
- Un-new Year's Resolutions
I don't make New Year's resolutions. I always figure that I'm reasonably good about making changes at other points of the year, so why make a point of it on January 1? But this year the changes I want to make happened to take place around...